As with Bird Requiem, reviewed here, this earlier 2006 album is beautiful, Youssef playing the oud more and his vocal less to the fore overall, but when he does voice his trance singing it is as hypnotically pleasing as ever. There is a healthy mix of contemporary and traditional, exemplified well by tracks 2 and 3: the modern in former 27th Century Ethos where electronic soundscapes pulse and beat under Youssef's singing; the traditional in latter Miel El Cendres where his oud [lute] playing is accompanied classically by the Oslo Session String Quartet. Heavier permutations get developed in the 10 minutes of Odd Poetry where Norwegian jazz musicians add their twopence of infinitely more worth.

More psyche-delight from the delightful Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl who as The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger revamp and re-present early Pink Floyd/The Beatles and all similar, which is usually just far-out, and at times exquisitely beautiful like the third of the four tracks on this ep Pierotte with its complex harmonies, acoustic guitar, harmonium and other psychedelic sounds of backwards-played fuzz. Closer Richard Brown is a piece of playfulness reminiscent of a time when such was a requisite on an album.

I was saddened to hear of Jim Lane's passing a week ago, on Father's Day.

I met him very briefly [see review of Jim and his band The Renegades here] so can't claim to know him, though as I said in that review he was a warm, friendly man, and I have the greatest respect for his journeyman dedication to his music and through this the entertainment and enjoyment he brought to others.

I couldn't find any information on his life online - which in itself isn't surprising - though with so much information available that is meaningless, it is nonetheless a shame. For example, I do not know if he was himself a father.

Therefore, by way of a tribute to and in memory of a gentleman musician, I am presenting this post and referencing my previous review.

I was wondering if it would be possible to go wrong with covering songs of this quality, and of course one could: crap renditions; hitting the impenetrable wall of the super-fan's adherence to originals. This cover album avoids both possibilities, and the Country 'take' provides just enough sense of interpretation on songs that already have some 'country' blood in their veins, with Sheldon's generic vocal adding sufficient anchorage to that transformation. What will always carry such an album is, however, and without any serious question, the brilliance of the songcraft itself. These are straightforward performances and productions, with vocal harmonies that sustain the listenable pleasure. Where it can fall a little short is with a song like The Pretender when the emotive peaks of the original are flattened out by the polish of a diligent rather than empathetic version.

Another Pax-Am release, you can hear it here, and there isn't a ballad within sniffing distance, these rock numbers rock with opener Burn in the Night recalling 'an old NYC love lost', second Cop City recalling The Who, and the 58 seconds of third Look in the Mirror recalling punk. That last one should have been a little longer as it is perhaps the most interesting of this set's leaning.

If you were at all unsure about my comment in the previous
music posting about Steve Tilston being one of the great guitarists, listen to
the 23 minutes of the gorgeous Rhapsody
on his 1990 instrumental album Swans at
Coole, where he also plays mandolin. It is an exquisite folk symphony with
guitar at its beautiful root and then broadened by the fine accompaniments
ofFlute, Whistle & Percussion:
Maggie Boyle; Cello: Tony Hinnigan; 1st Violin: Stuart Gordon; 2nd Violin: Paul
Boyle; Uilleann Pipes & Whistle: Tommy Keane, and Bodhran: Mike Taylor.

And the prowess doesn’t stop there. Second, traditional The Wind That Shakes the Barley/The Ladies'
Pantellets, is a rousing folk ditty, with third Planxty Concoran a virtuoso classical piece. On both, and others, violinist Stuart
Gordon plays wonderfully, and he is the friend for whom Tilston’s song The Way it Was from his latest album Truth was written. The rest of the album
is a further showcase of Tilston’s remarkable talent, and the whole is simply
impressive and perfect.

Friday, 26 June 2015

Otterton Mill is a café/restaurant venue that has an oak-beam ceiling charm, and the audience at last night’s Steve Tilston
intimate gig added a particular genteel, OAP feel: most [if not all, me being
the odd one out] had attended first to have a meal, and the aroma of hake fiscake
was still rife when I turned up, though by that stage many were eating their
delicate mousse desserts or drinking coffee. The men were - as with the majority
of gigs I attend these days of bands and/or singers I liked back in the day -
either greying or balding [or had already arrived] and wore an array of
colourful shirts stereotypically Hawaiian, Lee Perry Polo or check/plaid [ah,
that’s me then…..]. Tilston played two 45 minutes sets, and to complete my
portrait of the audience I will just point at that during the interval most had
more coffee and twee desserts whilst I had a strong cider [rock’n’roll!], and
the guy sitting next to me did the crossword he had torn from a newspaper and
brought along in his trousers pocket. And I will also mention his kind wife had earlier
before the start offered me some dark chocolate she had brought along in a
Tupperware sandwich box.

Steve Tilston is one of the genuinely great English
singer/songwriters, and he was/is friends with, amongst others famously of the
early 70s, Ralph McTell, Bert Jansch and Wizz Jones, the latter whom influenced
him in his early days and when he played at Les Cousins in London [and when Steve
asked last night’s audience if anyone there knew the club there was a knowing
assent from a few so perhaps my shirts and desserts caricature isn’t entirely
fair]. Tilston doesn’t appear to carry the wider acclaim/knowing of his
contemporaries just mentioned, and indeed my crossworder and darkchocolater
didn’t seem to know much about him either, though had seen him at the Mill
before. However, this might change as more people see the Al Pacino film Danny Collins based loosely on an
incident in Steve Tilston’s life: you can see a video of Steve meeting Al here – Pacino looking like an airbomb has just exploded in his face – and more on
the pertinent background story with a review of one of Tilston’s great early
albums by me here.

Tilston’s guitar playing is as delicate to virtuoso as ever,
and his singing voice is wonderful: folksy when needed, with the attendant
resonance that makes it generic, and also quite beautiful with an occasional
warble that I so like on his two earliest albums. He opened with his Fairport
Convention song [written for them] Rocky
Road, with its quick guitar, and then an upbeat Weeping Willow Replanted with its bluesy undertones, a reworking of
Weeping Willow by Blind Boy Fuller.
He also played the beautiful Fisher Lad
of Whitby and the reflective The Road
When I Was Young which I am sure had many in the audience in addition to me
feeling likewise and rueful. It is a familiar set, so I won’t name others from
this expectation, and Tilston tells a set narrative too, for example recounting
when at his daughter’s wedding he didn’t play the requested Jacaranda, but instead – as we discover
when he starts to play – Let’s Face the
Music and Dance, at which point the audience last night [perhaps now
fulfilling the caricature] all joined in.

Tilston also played a significant selection from his
imminent new album Truth, including another
sweetly nostalgic song Grass Days
recalling his early musical career and outlook, the plaintive The Way it Was recalling the loss of a
dear friend and musician, a wonderful tribute to Nick Drake The Riverman Has Gone written like and played in Drake's inimitable sound/style, and Yo Me Voy
which as a recent song reminded me of Tilston's earliest work in the beautiful melody
and the distinctive, light warble in his fine vocal, this song as well as
others played on his 10 string acoustic guitar. I will review this album later.

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This blog is essentially for music reviews, including live gigs. Frequently heavy on 60s/70s nostalgia, the time of my musical growing-up, there is also an eclectic and contemporary range. In addition I fuel a commitment to posting themed album covers for the simple challenge and fun of it - as I've started, I'll keep going. Enjoy.